The present invention relates in general to electrical energy control. In particular, the present invention relates to a wireless lighting controller for building lighting systems.
Lighting energy accounts for nearly 40% of commercial building electricity consumption. In many buildings, much of this energy use is a result of lighting that is on unnecessarily because of inadequate controls. Traditional wired switches are expensive to install, inflexible to changing requirements in the workplace, and unable to respond to available daylight or occupancy. For example, many buildings have adequate daylight along the perimeter, but the installed switching is not adequate to turn off the unnecessary lights.
There are wireless lighting controls on the market, but each suffer from certain shortcomings. Available residential systems tie a specific switch to a specific relay or relay channel and do not provide the flexibility needed for commercial building applications. Commercial systems require that specialized ballasts be installed to replace existing ballasts making them expensive and unlikely to gain significant market share. There is a need for a flexible and readily installable system that does not require replacing existing fluorescent ballasts or fixtures.